ScienceDaily (Sep. 2, 2009) — A 'surviving sepsis' in-hospital project has been shown to improve the care of patients with sepsis. The educational program for early management of patients with septic shock, described in BioMed Central's open access journal Critical Care, increased compliance with sepsis guidelines and led to a 45% risk reduction for in-hospital death.

Massimo Girardis led a team of researchers from the University Hospital of Modena who carried out the study. He said, "The application of evidence-based guidelines for the management of patients with severe sepsis/septic shock is still unsatisfactory. We've shown that, coupled with increased education, the institution of a specific sepsis team seems to be a key point for providing the adequate management of in-hospital patients."

The researchers tested the effects of an educational program on sepsis for physicians and nurses of all hospital departments and implementation of a specific protocol for recognition and management of patients with severe sepsis/septic shock including an early consultation by a skilled 'sepsis team'. They found that compliance with guidelines was significantly increased and that there was an improvement in outcome in intensive care unit patients. The authors report that this is the first time such an improvement has been demonstrated in this setting.

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Adapted from materials provided by BioMed Central, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Journal Reference:

1. Massimo Girardis, Laura Rinaldi, Lara Donno, Marco Marietta, Mauro Codeluppi, Patrizia Marchegiano, Claudia Venturelli. Effects on management and outcome of severe sepsis and septic shock patients admitted to the intensive care unit after implementation of a sepsis program: a pilot study. Critical Care, 2009; (in press) [link]

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